Editing Chess engine (section)

{{Short description|Computer program for chess analysis and game}}
{{Chess programming series}}
In [[computer chess]], a '''chess engine''' is a [[computer program]] that analyzes [[chess]] or [[List of chess variants|chess variant]] positions, and generates a move or list of moves that it regards as strongest.<ref>blog.chess.com [http://blog.chess.com/zaifrun/creating-a-chess-engine-from-scratch-part-1 Creating a chess engine from scratch (Part 1: Basics)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308201127/http://blog.chess.com/zaifrun/creating-a-chess-engine-from-scratch-part-1 |date=2012-03-08 }}, Link date 28 June 2012</ref>

A chess [[software engine|engine]] is usually a [[Front and back ends|back end]] with a [[command-line interface]] with no graphics or [[windowing system|windowing]].  Engines are usually used with a front end, a windowed [[graphical user interface]] such as [[Chessbase]] or [[WinBoard]] that the user can interact with via a keyboard, mouse or touchscreen.  This allows the user to play against multiple engines without learning a new user interface for each, and allows different engines to play against each other.

Many chess engines are now available for mobile phones and tablets, making them even more accessible.